1.1

Bathing at beaches is one of the major outdoor recreational activities for the people of Hong Kong during the hot summer months. In 2001, over 9 million people had visited the beaches during the bathing season (Appendix 1). Our beautiful beaches also play a role in promoting the tourism of Hong Kong. Some popular beaches, such as Repulse Bay, attract thousands of tourists each year. It is therefore important to maintain the good water quality of our beaches so that both the public and tourists could enjoy and appreciate the natural beauty of Hong Kong. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has made enormous effort over the last decade to reverse the declining beach water quality trend observed in the late 1980's. As a result, the water quality of Hong Kong beaches has improved significantly since 1997.

This annual report provides an outline of the beach monitoring programme run by the EPD and presents the information on water quality for all the beaches monitored during the bathing season in 2001. The monitoring results and discussions are based on the E. coli data collected from March to end of October. The changes in beach water quality, the potential pollution sources and the relevant improvement works will be covered in the following chapters.